Haniyeh coffin arrives in Qatar for burial, Hezbollah's Nasrallah vows to avenge killing

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Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has threatened Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on X following a speech the later gave during the funeral of Fuad Shukr.

"Hassan Nasrallah, stop the boasting speeches, threats, and lies before you pay a heavy price", he wrote.

Hassan Nasrallah, stop the boasting speeches, threats, and lies before you pay a heavy price.

We will act with full force to restore security to the residents of the north. pic.twitter.com/V7rAIjiD2f

— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) August 1, 2024

Palestinian news agency Wafa is reporting that an Israeli strike on an apartment in Gaza City has killed and wounded civilians, although it is unknown how many casualties have been caused.

Shouting slogans and waving national flags, hundreds of Israelis marched in Tel Aviv to demand the return of hostages, as they endured their 300th day of captivity in Gaza on Thursday.

"There is no victory until the hostages are back," chanted the demonstrators, many wearing t-shirts emblazoned with "300 Days", near the defence ministry in the country's commercial hub, an AFP correspondent reported.

"As we stand here today... dozens still remain in captivity, enduring unimaginable suffering," the Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group said in a statement before the rally.

The forum called on the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to sign a truce deal that will bring the hostages home.

"The deal represents the only viable path to secure their release, end the current conflict and initiate a process of healing and reconstruction in the region," it said.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told US counterpart Joe Biden in a call on Thursday that Israel was trying to spread the Gaza war to the wider region and did not want a ceasefire, his office said, adding that Biden thanked Erdogan for efforts regarding an East-West prisoner swap in Ankara.

In a statement, the Turkish presidency said Erdogan told Biden that the Israeli government had shown its unwillingness to reach a ceasefire in Gaza "at every step" and that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to the US Congress had prompted "deep disappointment" in Turkey and the world.

Erdogan also said the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Palestinian militant group Hamas' political bureau, had dealt a "heavy blow" to ceasefire efforts, his office said. It said Erdogan also vowed to continue working to improve ties between the NATO allies.

(Reuters)

US President Joe Biden, in a phone call on Thursday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, discussed new US defensive military deployments to support Israel against threats such as missiles and drones, the White House said. 

(Reuters)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday spoke with the Saudi foreign minister about the importance of a Gaza ceasefire deal, the State Department said.

Blinken and Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud also discussed the need for the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces to participate in a ceasefire talks this month, the department added.

(Reuters)

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is flying to Qatar's capital Doha on Thursday evening to attend a funeral for Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas' political bureau who was killed in Tehran on Wednesday, a Turkish diplomatic source said.

The funeral will be on Friday, the source added.

(Reuters)

Hezbollah said it launched dozens of rockets on northern Israel Thursday "in response" to a deadly Israeli strike in south Lebanon - the group's first attack after Israel killed a top commander earlier this week.

The Iran-backed group said it "launched dozens of Katyusha rockets... in response to the Israeli enemy's attack on... (the southern village of Shama) that killed a number of civilians".

The US is expecting Iran to conduct a larger attack against Israel than its previous retaliatory attack in April that saw the launch of around 200 drones and missiles against the country.

According to Axios, US intelligence officials believe that Iran will be able to prepare an attack alongside its regional allies in the next few days, and that the US was preparing to intervene in the same way it did in April. This involved military assets being positioned in the Gulf, Red Sea and Eastern Mediterranean. 

One US official was quoted by Axios as saying "we expect a few rough days". Israeli officials are also told the publication that they are expecting a wide-ranging missile attack by Iran.

Jordanian authorities have issued a NOTAM (aviation notice) requiring all flights to the country to carry at least an additional 45 minutes of fuel for "operational reason" according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24. 

As the threat of retaliation by Iran against Israel looms this week, Jordan has issued a NOTAM requiring all flights to the country carry an additional 45 minutes of fuel for “operational reason.” pic.twitter.com/uxiVckpgEi

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) August 1, 2024

Warning sirens sounded in northern Israel, the Israeli military said on Thursday, amid heightened alert over the possibility of retaliatory strikes from Hezbollah following the assassination of a senior commander this week.

Israeli media reported interceptions from Iron Dome air defences over the Western Galilee but it was not immediately clear whether the strikes represented an escalation from the near daily exchange of fire that has been going on for months. 

Numerous Iron Dome interceptions reported over the Western Galilee, in the first attack from Lebanon in over 48 hours. https://t.co/oLZo51GBzf pic.twitter.com/qnuQn9RMbn

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) August 1, 2024

The leader of Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels vowed a "military response" Thursday to the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in an attack blamed on Israel.

"There has to be a military response to these crimes, which are shameless and dangerous, and constitute a major escalation by the Israeli enemy," Abdul Malik al-Houthi said in a televised speech.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday declared Friday, 2 August, a day of national mourning over the killing of the head of Hamas' political bureau Ismail Haniyeh.

"In order to show our support for the Palestinian Cause and our solidarity with our Palestinian siblings, a day of national mourning was declared tomorrow (2 August Friday) due to Hamas Political Bureau Chairman Ismail Haniyeh's martyrdom," he said on social media platform X.

(Reuters)

Air Algerie has temporarily suspended all flights to and from Lebanon until further notice, the Algerian state TV said on Thursday.

The move comes as tensions escalate between Israel and the Lebanese armed political group Hezbollah.

(Reuters) 

Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari has said that there is no changes to the orders of the Home Front Command following the speech from Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah today that saw him threaten retaliation for the assassination of Hezbollah and Hamas senior leaders. 

Palestinian news agency Wafa has said that Israeli authorities have announced the seizure of 790 hectares of land near the occupied West Bank town of Salfit. 

Wafa added that a further 790 hectares of land will be seized from the residents of the village of Iskaka to be used by Nofim Haniya, an illegal Israeli settlement that was first established in 2002. 

The death toll on a shelter for displaced Palestinians east of Shujaiya has increased to 15, Palestinian media is reporting.

Israeli aircraft attacked the Dalal Mughrabi School with three missiles. Several others have been injured.

Israel's national security council warned Israelis on Thursday to exercise extra caution when travelling abroad and said Iran or its allies Hamas and Hezbollah could target Israeli or Jewish institutions outside the country.

The warning, in a statement issued through the prime minister's office, came amid growing fears in Israel of a attack by its enemies in retaliation for the assassination of senior leaders from Hezbollah and Hamas this week

Four Syrian civilians were killed and at least five Lebanese were wounded in an Israeli strike in south Lebanon, the Lebanese health ministry said on Thursday. 

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said Thursday that Israel had turned "rogue" state with its "assassination" of the Hamas political leader and needed to be stopped.

He said the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas's lead negotiator in efforts for a truce and hostage release deal for Gaza, was a clear sign that Israel had decided to undermine the US-backed talks.

"Yesterday, Israel assassinated Ismail Haniyeh. He was the one who was negotiating the exchange deal. So how on earth is a country that wants to conclude a deal killing the main interlocutor in those negotiations?" Safadi told a news conference.

"So when Netanyahu decided and sent his missiles to assassinate Haniyeh in Iran in violation of the sovereignty of another country and bringing escalation to a very high level, is that somebody who wants the deal to work?

"And all the work that has been done by Egypt, Qatar, and the US to bring a deal that would have brought a ceasefire, that would have released the hostages, that would have released prisoners, Israel decided to undermine all that".

Safadi demanded action by the international community to rein Israel in.

"The (UN) Security Council must not allow a state that has turned rogue to impose more wars and more destruction on the region."

The coffin of Hamas's political chief Ismail Haniyeh, killed in a strike in Tehran blamed on Israel, arrived Thursday in Doha after a public funeral in Iran, Qatar-based network Al Jazeera reported.

Haniyeh, who had resided in exile in the Gulf state with other members of the Palestinian group's political office, is to be buried in Qatar on Friday following prayers at the Imam Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab Mosque, Doha's largest mosque.

At least 10 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli strike on a school east of the Shujaiya neighbourhood in eastern Gaza Strip, the Palestinian civil emergency said on Thursday. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Israel was prepared for any "aggression" against it following threats of retaliation for the killings of top Hamas and Hezbollah figures.

"Israel is at a very high level of preparation for any scenario, both defensive and offensive. We will make any act of aggression against us pay a very high price," Netanyahu said in a statement.

"Those who attack us, we will attack in return."

His comments came as Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah warned on Thursday that the Lebanese armed group was bound to respond to Israel's killing of its top military commander, Fuad Shukr, in a strike on Tuesday in a Beirut suburb.

On Wednesday, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed in a strike in Tehran, which Iran and Hamas have blamed on Israel. Israel has declined to comment on his killing.

"You do not know what red lines you crossed," Nasrallah said addressing Israel during a speech broadcast at Shukr's funeral.

"The enemy, and those who are behind the enemy, must await our inevitable response."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Joe Biden will hold a phone call on Thursday and discuss escalating tensions in the Middle East, Axios reported on Thursday, citing an official in Netanyahu's office.

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah warned Thursday that the group was bound to respond to Israel's killing of its top military commander, saying his death and that of the Hamas leader "crossed" red lines.

"You do not know what red lines you crossed," he said, addressing Israel during a speech broadcast at top commander Fuad Shukr's funeral. "The enemy, and those who are behind the enemy, must await our inevitable response."

Ismail Haniyeh, the top Hamas official, was assassinated on Wednesday by an explosive device covertly smuggled into the Tehran guesthouse where he was staying, according to seven Middle Eastern officials, including two Iranians, and an American official, the New York Times is reporting.

The bomb had been hidden approximately two months ago in the guesthouse, according to five of the Middle Eastern officials, NYT said. The guesthouse is run and protected by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and is part of a large compound, known as Neshat, in an upscale neighborhood of northern Tehran.

UK Foreign Minister David Lammy has renewed calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and the return of the hostages still held , after the war in Gaza marks 300 days. 

Lammy failed to mention the death toll in Gaza in his statement.

It's been 300 days since 7 October – the deadliest attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust.

Many who were brutally abducted and taken hostage remain in captivity.

Today we renew our call for an immediate ceasefire and for Hamas to release all hostages now.

— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) August 1, 2024

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Israel has issued a warning over potential attacks against the country, following threats from Iran amid the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh.

The country said it would "exact a very high price for aggression from any quarter".

Turkey has blocked cooperation between NATO and Israel since October because of the war in Gaza and said the alliance should not engage with Israel as a partner until there is an end to the conflict, sources familiar with the process said.

Israel carries the status of NATO partner and has fostered close relations with the military alliance and some of its members, notably its biggest ally the United States.

Prior to Israel's offensive in Gaza, NATO member Turkey had been working to mend its long-strained ties with Israel.

Since then, Ankara has been fiercely critical of Israel's operation in Gaza, which it says amounts to a genocide, and has halted all bilateral trade. It has also slammed many Western allies for their support of Israel.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the sources said Turkey had vetoed all NATO engagement with Israel since October, including joint meetings and exercises, viewing Israel's "massacre" of Palestinians in Gaza as a violation of NATO's founding principles.

Hamas member Izzat al-Rashq says there is no confirmation over the Israeli claim that it killed Deif last month, in a Telegram post.

"Confirming or denying the martyrdom of any of the Qassam leaders is a matter for the leadership of the Qassam Brigades and the leadership of the movement," he wrote.

"Unless either of them announced, none of the news published in the media or by any other party can be confirmed."

Lufthansa says suspends flights to Tel Aviv until August 8, amid tensions over the war in Gaza and in Lebanon.

The US has deployed 12 warships to the Middle East amid an increase of tensions in the region amid the war in Gaza and strikes killing Hamas and Hezbollah officials, the Washington Post reported on Thursday, citing a source in the defense establishment.  

Indonesia President Joko Widodo condemned Ismail Haniyeh's killing as "an act of murder", in a new statement.

Widodo said the killing was "an act of violence, a murder that is intolerable which occurred during the sovereign territory of Iran".

"I believe everyone, including Indonesia, strongly condemns such violence and murder," he added.

The US Department of State has raised its travel advisory to Lebanon to Level 4: Do Not Travel, amid tensions concerning the strike killing Hezbollah's Fuad Shukr in Beirut, and the strike killing Hamas top chief Ismail Haniyeh in Iran.

The Department of State has raised its Lebanon Travel Advisory from Level 3: Reconsider Travel to Level 4: Do Not Travel. We recommend that U.S. citizens enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive alerts. https://t.co/vE02vvquJg pic.twitter.com/7baXCRN5oV

— U.S. Embassy Beirut (@usembassybeirut) July 31, 2024

Who was Mohammed Deif, the Hamas military chief who the Israeli military claimed to have killed in a strike on Khan Younis back in July. 

Read more here.

Top Iranian officials will meet the representatives of Iran's regional allies from Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen on Thursday to discuss potential retaliation against Israel after the killing of the Hamas leader in Tehran, five sources told Reuters.

The region faces a risk of widened conflict between Israel, Iran and its proxies after Ismail Haniyeh's assassination in Tehran on Wednesday and the killing of Hezbollah's senior commander on Tuesday, in an Israeli strike on the outskirts of the Lebanese capital Beirut.

Four Palestinians have been killed in Gaza's Nuseirat camp, Al Jazeera Arabic is reporting.

China hopes Palestinian factions can create an independent state as soon as possible, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Thursday while addressing a query on the killing of the Hamas chief in Iran.

"China earnestly looks forward to all Palestinian factions, on the basis of internal reconciliation, create an independent Palestinian state as soon as possible," Lin Jian said during a regular press briefing.

Israeli forces have detained at least 35 Palestinians overnight and Thursday morning, including a woman a child, and former detainees from multiple areas in the West Bank.

In a joint statement, the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) and the Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs Commission said the detentions were concentrated in the governorates of Hebron, Nablus, and Ramallah, while the rest occurred among the governorates of Jenin, Tubas, Jericho, and Jerusalem

The health ministry in Gaza said that at least 39,480 people have been killed in the war waged by Israel, which entered its 300th day on Thursday.

The toll includes 35 deaths in 24 hours, according to ministry figures, which also list 91,128 people as having been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began on October 7.

The head of Hamas' military wing, Mohammed Deif, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza last month, the Israeli military confirmed on Thursday.

"The IDF (Israeli army) announces that on July 13th, 2024, IDF fighter jets struck in the area of Khan Younis, and following an intelligence assessment, it can be confirmed that Mohammed Deif was eliminated in the strike," the military said.

Israel's opposition leader, Yair Lapid, has criticised Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli government for prolonging the war in Gaza, and failing to secure the release of hostages.

"All the government offers us is more war, more war, and endless war, which will continue for years until we not only defeat them but also ourselves," wrote Lapid in a post on X.

"It is our duty to remember that there is another way," he added. "It is possible to negotiate a captive exchange and bring them back home."

300 יום מאז האסון. 300 יום שהחטופים מתחת לאדמה וכל מה שהממשלה מציעה לנו הוא עוד מלחמה ועוד מלחמה ומלחמה לנצח, שתמשך שנים עד שננצח לא רק אותם, אלא גם את עצמנו.

חובתנו ביום הזה לזכור שאפשר אחרת. אפשר לעשות עסקת חטופים, להחזיר אותם הביתה.

> pic.twitter.com/m8NSbhLs55

— יאיר לפיד - Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) August 1, 2024

At least eight Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, after Israeli forces bombed the entrance to al-Maghazi camp in central Gaza, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

Palestinian media said that vehicle near the entrance to the al-Maghazi camp. Dozens were also injured.

At least one other Palestinian was killed and others were injured after an Israeli strike  targeted a home in the Nuseirat camp, also in cental Gaza.

The funeral for killed Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh went underway early on Thursday in Tehran, with prayers led by Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya and Iran's parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf addressed mourners in the Iranian capital.

In the capital's city centre, mourning crowds carrying posters of Haniyeh and Palestinian flags gathered at Tehran University, according to an AFP correspondent.

Iranian state media said a mourning procession will head towards Azadi Square afterwards.

خامنه‌ای در حلقه محافظان در #تهران،
نماز میت بر #اسماعیل_هنیه با بالاترین سطوح امنیتی.. از منطقه پرواز ممنوع در تهران گرفته تا صف فشرده امنیتی‌ها در اطراف #خامنه‌ای pic.twitter.com/WQQmgDRGjz

— Sima Sabet | سیما ثابت (@Sima_Sabet) August 1, 2024

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday urged "all parties" in the Middle East to stop "escalatory actions" and achieve a ceasefire in Gaza, after Hamas's political leader was killed in a strike that Iran blamed on Israel.

Achieving peace "starts with a ceasefire, and to get there, it also first requires all parties to talk (and) to stop taking any escalatory actions", Blinken told reporters in Mongolia.